Are Dreams Made of These?: Prologue
by the Cheshire Cat
Summary: Starring Kaoru Koganei in his teen years. A stay at America and so much more...
1. Default Chapter Title

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**Are Dreams Made of These?**

**by ^death^ a.k.a You-Know-Who**

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Disclaimer: Flame of Recca and the characters do not belong to me. Though I downright wish they did. Haha. Anyway, yeah. They belong to Npbuyuki Anzai. End!

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Seventeen-year old Kaoru Koganei looked up, watching the stars twinkle in the velvety black sky above. A fanged grin escaped his lips, etched clearly on his adolescent face. Elbows perched on the banister, his glittering gold madougu propped beside him.

In a matter of days, he would be moving to America with the Hanabishi family. Recca had found a job as a marketing executive (horror, the horror!!!) in a renowned firm. He was already engaged to Yanagi and the pair had planned to get married the instant they return from Recca's two-year internship at the firm. Kagerou and Shigeo would be coming along, the latter claiming he deserved a well-earned vacation.

He too would be following them. After all, the three Hanabishis had legally adopted him. 

"Should be called myself Kaoru Hanabishi." He musingly muttered to himself.

Sigh...

_Somewhere_

_Out there_

_Beneath the pale moon light_

_Someone's thinking of me_

_And loving me tonight_

He didn't mind moving to America. Opportunities were in abundance there. Though he silently wondered what kind and type of opportunities they were.

"Doubt they'll have a dojo or something like the Ura Butou Satsujin there." He said again. to the wind rather to himself.

"Just hope I won't get bored." He added as an after-thought.

He doubted he would. He would be enrolling in the College for two years. Probably boring himself with engineering, meta-physics and the like.

Sigh...

_Somewhere _

_Out there_

_Someone's saying a prayer_

_That will find one another_

_In that big somewhere out there_

"Kaoru-kun... what are you still doing up?" came a willowy voice from behind. Yanagi crept out onto the balcony and stood beside the spiky-haired male. She wore a light creme-coloured yukata which brought out her eyes. A warm smile was on her lips, her eyes appeared slightly tired.

"Nothing Yanagi-neechan. Just wondering." came the distant reply. Yanagi nodded her head out of reflex and then noted his madougu was beside him. 

"You were training?" Kaoru laughed, his voice high and mellow. It hadn't broken yet

"Iie. You know me, I'm so used to the Kougan Anki around me that it's everywhere I go. To not have it by my side would be... I don't know. Weird. Out of place even." He explained. It was true. He had never parted the madougu. Not ever since he was recruited into the Uruha.

The Uruha...

"I see." Yanagi smiled and nodded her head again. She was slightly shorter than Kaoru, the boy had grown taller and more muscular as time went by. Almost as tall as Recca, as loud-mouthed as the flame master and as cocky too. True, if one didn't know any better, they were brothers.

_And even though _

_I know how very far apart we are_

_It helps to think we might be wishing on the same broad star_

"Done with the packing neechan?"

"Yes, I'm helping Kagerou with hers tomorrow. You?"

"Done. I wonder if customs will let me bring my madougu up the plane."

"Can't you disassemble it?"

"Then they'd think the parts formed to make something far more dangerous."

"Ano... isn't it already dangerous?" Yanagi teased. Kaoru laughed again and nodded his head, scratching the back as he did.

"Haha... guess so."

"Don't worry. Recca-kun has gotten the forms for your madougu. Everything will be fine."

"Yeah... guess so." the healer yawned and then stepped back into the house.

"I'm going to sleep Kaoru. I hope you would too. There'll be a lot of things to do tomorrow and once we touchdown in America, even more." Kaoru nodded his head, his eyes still glued to the stars. Yanagi sighed and slipped inside, leaving the young Anki wielder on his own.

_And when the night wind starts to sing_

_Of tunes of lullaby_

_It helps to think_

_We're sleeping underneath the same big sky_

He looked away, his gaze now resting on the pond. The dream he had a few nights back soared up into his mind. Clear, vivid and almost realistic.

_Somewhere_

_Out there_

_If love can see us through_

_Then we'll be together_

_Somewhere out there_

_Out where dreams_

_Come true..._

"Kaoru-kun..." a girl was calling out his name. A girl with short black hair and an impish smile. Slim, slender ala petite. She held her hands out, beckoning to him, the smile fixed onto her face. Her expression... joyful, exuberant... carefree.

He moved towards her, his arms too outstretched. 

They met and then the surroundings turned sinisterly dark.

"No... no... no..." 

"Kaoru...kun...?" his eyes seacrhed frantically for the girl, his nerves tensing and his heart pulsating wildly. He found her, arms still outstretched. He almost missed the sigh of relief from his lips. 

He moved nearer and then his surroundings shattered into a million pieces. Kaoru found himself alone in the dark. He turned around wildly and stopped in shock... and horror.

She was there, hung from a cross. Limbs nailed to the wooden fixture. Blood dripping noiselessly to the ground.

"No... no... no..." And then she looked up, her sparkling azure eyes burning deep into his soul.

_"Help me Kaoru... help me... I love you..."_

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Author's Notes: *ahem* Apart from Joker, I realised Kaoru too was albeit under-rated. Thus, I hereby present the beginnings of a fic revolving around him. Nya nya nya. It's gonna be suspense-filled and dark. NYAHAHAHAHAH. *insane*


	2. Default Chapter Title

**Are Dreams Made of These?**

**by ^death^ Himura**

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Disclaimer: Yare yare. Flame of Recca a.k.a Recca no Honou belongs to Nobuyuki Anzai and not me. First, before you read this, I apologize for all my typoes. Thing is, I type relatively fast. Okay...not relatively. Very kay? And because I'm working on a limited time to be both on the net and the comp, I can't afford to waste it doing grammatical errors. So... gomen ne? ^_^.

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**Chapter 1: Touchdown at Cali-o-fornia**

The sleek white plane touched down gracefully on the asphalt and tarmac runway. After slowing down to a halt, the passengers inside slowly began to rise from their seats - some in shameful drunken stupor - and head on towards the exits.

The dark and spiky-haired male waited patiently at the end of the line, his eyes slowly watching as each and every passenger hobbled past his seat. When the final one moved past, he got up, reached for a clothed item that lay beside him and sidled towards the exit.

"Thank you for flying with All Nippon Airways. Do fly with us again." chirped the heavily-made-up air stewardess as she flashed the male a million-dollar grin.

"Douitemashite." was the soft reply as he ducked out. The stewardess blinked, watching his retreating back and then smiled to herself.

* * *

"Kaoru-kun. How was the flight?" Yanagi asked the male beside her as the small group headed outside the California International Airport. At 17, Koganei Kaoru was tall, tanned and dashingly charming. He had that same boyish appeal and crooked fanged grin. His hair remaining the same as always, spiky and black. He had dyed it blue and black once but got tired of it soon after. Or when the rest of the student population began sporting the same hair colour and style.

He was the Kamikata High School heart throb. Single, eligible and all male. An active participant in the Kendo club, basketball and athletics. His academic achievements were outstanding. An all-rounder. Child prodigy and all-star athlete. Yet all those years he had been single. Never dated, preferred rather to lounge about in arcades with a group of close friends or just basically spend time at home or at the shrine.

He had not heard form Kurei nor Neon in a long time. Though there were times when he would bump into Joker. Fuuko and Raiha were planning to get married and Mikagami-sempai too had upgraded himself. Not that he needed any. He had started out as a ruthless lawyer, winning several cases and earning himself the nickname as Japan's Quincy Jones. Then he opened up a boutique catering specially to the vanity needs of male everywhere. The Hokage had their jaws dropping when they heard his decision. But as usual, everything Mikagami-sempai did was a success. His boutique was no exception. Kaoru had modeled for his show in Akihabara, and because of that, a lot of modeling agencies were after him.

Thank Kami-sama for Kagehoushi-sama's Eikai.

"It was fine." was the simple reply. Yanagi looked at him, her soft brown eyes boring deep into his. She knew he was lying.

"Oh alright. It wasn't It was bumpy. The seat was too small. I had no space to stretch my legs. I couldn't polish my Kougan Anki. The food was horrible! I mean. Mochi tasted like THAT?!?!" he spluttered and then he heard Yanagi laughing.

"Eh? Nani yo?" Yanagi covered her mouth, her eyes shut and laughed. He looked at Recca who was arguing with a taxi driver, then at Kagehoushi who was adjusting the pant suit she wore. He looked back at Yanagi.

"Nothing nothing. Come on now. Recca-kun has gotten us a cab to the apartment."

"Apartment? I thought you said hotel?" Kaoru narrowed his eyes. Yanagi shrugged.

"Don't worry. You'll find this apartment is very much like a hotel." she grinned and then carried her bag into the cab. Kaoru scratched the back of his head, his face a perplexed mask before hoisting the clothed madougu across his shoulder and entering the yellow-topped cab.

"Where to?" asked the driver, a bald man with a paunch asked, a beret sitting placidly on his had.

"Hollywood Drive." replied Recca as he slammed the door shut beside him.

* * *

"Not bad..." Kaoru walked about the apartment. Or the house, which was what it was. Two-storeys high, with a lush garden outside. The company had even provided Recca with his own car. A sleek metallic blue Lotus GTi.

"Ne Recca-niichan. I think once I'm done with school... I wanna join your company." he said, drooling as he took in the posh automobile. Recca grinned.

"Now that you mentioned it. I think your college schedule is somewhere in your room. Which is on the second floor." Kaoru blinked. Had he heard correctly. College? Schedule?

"Nani? I still have to go to school?!?!" he spluttered. Recca nodded his head, a grim smile on his face.

"But... but... but... I thought it was all over... I mean... I've completed my studies in Japan. Why the heck do I need to go to college here?" he retorted, eyes blazing with unvoiced fury.

"Simple. I don't want you to laze nor muck around and cause trouble." the teen's jaw dropped.

"You think **I** cause havoc?" he was met with Recca's even gaze. Oh alright. So maybe there was the time where he accidentally swung the boomerang form of the Kougan Anki into a neighbour's greenhouse, smashing the windows. And there was that time when he had stayed out late and made everyone worry. But still, to have to go to school even when he had officially un-officially completed his course; that was preposterous!

"Fine. But they better have something martial in it." he said and then stormed off to his room. What a lame way to spend six months in what seemed to be heavenly bliss. Curse it all. Damn it all. Kaoru looked away and kicked the door to his room open. Kagehoushi was inside, standing by the window.

"You know Kaoru... their system here is far different than in Japan. I'm sure it'll prove to be challenging and worthwhile." she said calmly, smiling warmly at him. Like the mother he never had, Kaoru always found he could rarely talk back to Kagerou. He grunted and then launched himself onto the bed, his hands folded behind his head, his eyes roaming about the ceiling.

"Aa... we'll see."

* * *

"And so class, I'd like to introduce a new member of the class today. Please welcome, Mr. Cow-roo Cor-ga-nay." the teacher, a Caucasian male in his early thirties introduced the Asian. Kaoru narrowed his eyes. _Feh... such bad pronounciation. No wonder Yanagi-neechan said their system was different. Can't even pronounce the names of their students._ He smiled weakly at the assembled group of twenty-five students and then went back to his seat, at the back of the class.

"Ah. Wait a minute Mr. Cor-ga-nay." said Mr. Thompson, apparently the name of the teacher with an inflexible tongue.

"It's Ko-gah-nei." Kaoru replied in a mildly bored ton. The lecturer didn't notice it and then smiled warmly.

"Tell us more about yourself, about Japan. I'm sure the class would be very keen and enthusiastic to know more about the East." Kaoru ran his eyes along the assembled students. Most with looks of utter boredom on his face. _Man... if they look this stoned... I can only imagine what the guy and his lectures are like..._

"More about myself? As in?"

"Well... as to where you were from. Why you are here. Those sort of questions." replied Mr. Thompson... or more formally, Professor Thompson. Kaoru arched an eyebrow at him. _Ah well... the professor uses his teaching techniques to interrogate his students. Somehow... this reminds me vaguely of Kurei-sama..._

"I'm from Tokyo, capital of Japan. Presently brought here because my brother has received a job attachment here in California. I'll only be staying here for six months, unless plans have been changed."

"Interesting. I was just curious about the education system in Japan."

"Nothing to be curious of. Much about the same."

"I hear you've completed all your courses."

"Yeah."

"You have a very good grasp of the English language."

"I took it in high school."

"Any other languages?"

"French, German, Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia and Zulu." the audience's jaws dropped.

"Interesting. Truly interesting." Professor Thompson's voice was somehow distant.

"Can I return to my seat now?"

"Ahh yes yes. We'll start the lecture now." Kaoru made his way back to his seat at the back, hands stuffed in the pockets of his over-sized baggy jeans. As he did make his way, he passed by a a girl with auburn tresses pulled into a low ponytail. Their eyes locked onto each other as Kaoru moved on, and then he saw her blush before tearing her gaze from his.

"Kawaii..." he whispered as he slumped into his seat. Then turning his attention back to the lame prof, he tried to tune in to a lecture on psychology.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling that the lecture, was finally over. Students rushed out, some scrambling for their scattered belongings on the desk before leaving the room. Kaoru took his time, taking idle pleasure in zipping his bag slowly before hoisting it onto his shoulders. He looked up only to catch a glimpse of auburn hair leaving the room.

Somehow, the colour of the girl's hair and her intense brown eyes reminded him of something. Not sure of what, he headed out the classroom and towards his locker, where he saw a crowd of girls blocking his path.

It appeared there were a few... or a lot... of girls who seemed to be reading Japan's version of GQ. _Must have been the one with Mikagami-sempai's show in Kyoto. Damn._ He paused behind a dark-haired girl and then cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

"I'm telling you guys. You're mistaken. That is not him. He's doing another show in Paris. Oh sorry." the girl turned around to face Kaoru. Her lavender eyes slowly widened and her body became tense and stiff.

"K-Kaoru... K-K-Koganei..." she stammered. The girls around her turned their direction to face the tall and spiky-haired person. Their jaws dropped simultaneously. They blinked and the scene suddenly reminded Kaoru of a bowl of goldfishes. He stifled the urge to laugh.

"Excuse me. I need to get to my locker." the sentence jarred the lavender-eyed girl out of her reverie, which was, drooling right in front of her teen idol.

"Matte yo." Kaoru felt a hand on his arm. The touch was light and delicate, the voice soft and light. The girl had regained her composure.

"Yes?"

"You *are* Kaoru Koganei right?"

"Well, you've gotten my name correct. Better than that kooky professor Thompson." he grinned back. The girl didn't react though the others around her did.

"But... weren't you supposed to be on tour with the owner of Ensui: Dark and Menacing?"

"Hai... I was supposed to follow Mikagami-sempai and model for him. But Yanagi-neechan convinced me to follow her and Recca-niichan to California. Excuse me. I really need to get my stuff before my next lectures start." he lightly pried the girl's hand from his arm. Once done grabbing the thick textbook for his accounting class, Kaoru walked away from the still-dazed group.

"Oh yeah. Didn't catch your name." he called out to the lavender-eyed girl. She blinked.

"Miyako. Miyako Toudaiji." she whispered.

"Sou ne. I'll be seeing you around then Miyako-san." he waved and then vanished within the throng of students.

"He... he said my name..." Miyako whispered to herself, not believing she had touched her teen idol and then spoke to him in such a brash way. Her face burned red and she dashed off in the opposite direction, suddenly recalling that she too had a class to go to.

* * *

The lecture hall was empty as Kaoru entered it. Save for maybe a few students who were clumped together in a corner discussing Kami-sama knows what. He shrugged his shoulders and then took a seat close to the back of the class. As he settled in, a familiar figure waltzed in.

"Yanagi-neechan?" Kaoru's jaw dropped, as did the others who had straggled in as well. Kaoru blinked. What was _she_ doing here? 

Yanagi merely smiled and then settled her briefcase on the table. Kaoru knew she was a qualified teacher. She had graduated in the Morioka University with honors in Literature, Arts, Economics and Accounts. It dawned on Kaoru that she might be the one who was taking over the class. Ah well... at least she wouldn't interrogate him unlike Professor Thompson. 

Getting up from his seat, Kaoru approached the teacher's desk; where Yanagi was busy taking out materials to be used for the lesson.

"Yanagi-neechan. What are you doing here?" Kaoru spoke in a low voice. Yanagi looked up and smiled at him.

"Well, I can't possibly stay at home and do nothing right? Kagehoushi-san told me to take up the teaching position here. I have the qualifications and Recca-kun said I could keep an eye on you." Kaoru snorted.

"Feh. Everywhere I go I need people to look after me. I'm seventeen for goodness sakes. I'm not thirteen anymore neechan. I can handle **and** take care of myself very well. That was what I was doing before I joined the Uruha and afterwards." he said, his voice continuing on in baritone. Kaoru's face burned. How could they still treat him like a child? An insult to his ego... his pride. Was he that trouble-some and untrustworthy?

Kaoru flinched as he felt fingers over his on the table.

"Kaoru-kun... you know that's not true. Don't worry. Recca-kun never said I was here to look out for you nor keep an eye on you. You're independent and resourceful. You can take care of yourself. Honestly, you can't take a joke these days can you?" she smiled warmly at him. Kaoru gaped.

"It was a - joke?" Yanagi nodded her head.

"I'm just tired of staying at home. Kagehoushi-san is out almost everyday shopping. Besides, I want to make use of the credentials I got in Japan. Now off you go to your seat. The class will start soon."

"Yeah... you better not pick on me too." Kaoru growled and then pouted.

"I heard about Professor Thompson's class. You sure gave a good impression." she laughed.

"Because he was asking way too much." replied the teenager and he moved back to his seat.

* * *

The class ended two hours later and once again, Kaoru stayed back to watch the students slowly drag themselves out of their chair - some toppling to the floor in the process. It wasn't that the lesson was boring. In fact, it was amazing. Yanagi was a wonderful teacher and her aids were almost state-of-the-art. Of course, thanks to Recca, who happened to work in an IT firm.

Kaoru bade her farewell and then headed out for lunch. He wanted to sample food from the cafeteria, wondering if they had any Japanese specialty. He was suddenly craving for Tempura, as much as he said that he hated it. 

The cafeteria, strangely, was not packed. Kaoru blinked and then glanced at the wall clock.

"I thought it was lunch time." he mumbled to himself.

"Different classes get out at different times. Using that method, the lunch room won't be so packed." came a voice form behind him. Kaoru turned around to find the girl from his Psychology class.

"Konnichiwa." she smiled at him. Kaoru nodded his head in return.

"Konnichiwa." he moved aside to allow her to get to her destination.

"I didn't know there were quite a number of Japanese students in the college." he asked her, following her to an empty table.

"I thought so too." she replied. "But most are on a exchange programme, they'll only be here for a few more months and then they return back to Japan." Kaoru's mouth curled into an adorable 'O' which made the female laugh.

"Nani yo?"

"Nothing... nothing... you reminded me of... someone..." she said softly, her eyes a distant and wistful gaze.

"So... are you on an exchange programme as well?" the girl nodded her head. From the fluorescent light that shone on her auburn hair, Kaoru found the girl to be devastatingly pretty. Her soft almond-shaped eyes were chocolate brown, her tresses, delicate ringlets that fell about her shoulders. Kaoru racked the back of his head for another word to replace pretty. She was not just that simple adjective. She was more than that. A goddess? Too cliché. But that was just about what he could come up with for the moment.

"Hai. I am."

"Oh."

"You're not eating?" she pointed to his empty tray. Kaoru looked at it and then chuckled.

"Heh... guess I was too enraptured by your beauty to remember my hunger." he joked. The girl blushed and looked away.

"Well, you better hurry. The next class ends and the cafeteria will be packed." Kaoru nodded his head. He got up and headed to the counter just in time as the doors burst open and the rest of the student population burst in, all of whom were starving.

Jostling his way through the crowd, Kaoru realised that the girl had left. A soft glow surrounding the place she sat being the only thing she left behind.

"And I never caught her name..."

* * *

_The following weekend..._

The famous California beach was almost packed. Be it from tourists, the residents who lived there and the students from the nearby college. Some lounged about on mats, planning to tan their bodies a golden brown. There were groups of teenagers playing a game of volleyball and frisbee while others were either surfing or hiding under the shade of the bar.

Kaoru walked about in his sandals, his clothed Anki slung across one shoulder. He had planned to find a desolate spot and practice. It had been awhile since he felt the cool gold metal beneath his slender fingertips, the key to his past.

Ducking past the multi-coloured disc-like objects, Kaoru finally found a spot that was to his liking. A big boulder which overlooked a rather choppy part of the beach. It was silent, save for the crash of the waves as they hit the rocks that lined the shore.

Nimbly leaping onto a particularly large boulder, Kaoru began taking up his stance.

* * *

"Marron!"

"Go away Chiaki!"

"No Marron! You've got it wrong. Ano... ojou-san... please get off me. My girlfriend is a bit angry."

"What 'a bit angry'? I'm **furious**! And I am ***_not_*** your girlfriend!" the girl named Marron flung the drink she was holding onto the blue-haired boy named Chiaki. They stood silent for a moment, Marron's eyes blazing with hurt and fury and Chiaki's with seemingly sincere apology.

And then she ran.

"Marron!"

* * *

"Chiaki no baka. It's always like this. Everywhere we go. He'll flirt and flirt. ARGH! Masochostic, chauvinistic FLIRT!!!" Marron screamed. She stood solo on a boulder, yelling at the waves that crashed towards her. Her hands were fisted at her side, eyes tearing. Her lips trembled and then she fell onto her knees and wept.

"It's always like this..."

* * *

Kaoru looked up after changing his madougu into the fifth form. He heard a voice. Or was it just his imagination?

No... it wasn't his imagination. Despite the thunderous roar of the waves, he was positively sure he heard a voice. Light. Feminine even. He stood up and changed the Anki back into the first form before hurrying to wrap it back into its cloth. Leaping from boulder to boulder, Kaoru went off in search of the voice.

_Danger? Robbery? Rape?_ So many thoughts ran through his mind that he almost crashed into a weeping figure on the boulder he head leaped on to.

* * *

"You?" the pair shouted simultaneously, yet voice drowned out by the waves. 

Kaoru blinked as he saw his classmate. Her knees grazed, her pale face streaked with tears. Her large brown eyes were watery and her thin lips trembled.

Marron nearly stopped breathing when she saw Kaoru. _Oh no... of all people... him. What an embarrassment..._ She didn't realise she was trembling. Be it from the cold... or from the hurt she was still reeling from before.

"Hey... are you alright?" Kaoru asked softly, kneeling down to check on her self-inflicted injuries. Marron blinked back her tears.

"Y-yes..." she replied. Kaoru looked back up at her, drowning himself in her eyes. The orbs which fascinated him so. Expressive and joyful when he first saw them and now sad and hurt. He managed a crooked grin.

"Ne... if you're alright, then you shouldn't be crying." he reached up and then delicately wiped her tears away. She was cool to the touch, her skin as soft as baby's skin. Kaoru repressed a sudden urge to suddenly wrap her in his arms and calm her. He wished he could soothe the hurt in her eyes.

"I'm fine." Marron smiled back and then got herself to a standing position. She was ashamed that she could have let anyone seen her so weak. She had been through far worse, this was just another petty and insignificant moment. Yet she silently wondered that perhaps... it was more than just petty and insignificant.

"You know... I never did catch your name. Boku wa Kaoru. Koganei Kaoru." he grinned at her again. Marron smiled back. _He's so cute..._

"I know. Watashiwa Kusakabe Marron." she bowed her head in traditional Japanese greeting.

"Marron ne?" she nodded. _Such a lovely name..._ thought Kaoru. He smiled back.

"Ne Marron-san. I think the weather's getting bad. Wanna get something to eat?" suggested the spiky-haired male. 

"Hai. Sounds like a good idea." and thus the pair headed away from the rocky boulders. For one, away from the recent hurt of a love she thought went wrong... and for another, away from the past of his life.

* * *

Author's Notes: KAMIKZE KAITOU JEANNE AND THE CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME!!! I'M ONLY BORROWING THEM FOR THIS FIC!!! *phew* Got that done with. No... I don't hate Chiaki. In fact, quote the opposite. I JUST LOVE CHIAKI!!! And Sindbad!!! Oh my.... *drools* But anyway, I just needed them for this fic. I'm very well known for mixing things up so I apologize in advance ne? Don't kill me ne? This chapter is for my *ahem* no. 1 fan. NEFER DA FOXDEMON!!! You rock babe!!! *muackz* So anyway, part 2 ought to be up soon enough. Maybe in the year 2002. *evil grin* Kekeke. Hai... review ne? ^_^

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